Sami Zayn returns to NXT two months after losing the championship to his former best friend/lover Kevin Owens. He returns with a clear head...or so he thinks. It just takes one chance meeting in the locker room with someone else...

Sami Zayn stepped out of the locker room showers, and felt good for the first time in a long time. Being in the Middle East touring with the WWE was a blessing. He needed the time away doing what he was made for with no distractions...wrestling and performing for people who loved the sport. It didn't hurt that being in the land of his ancestry felt like a call to his roots. It also gave him time to recover from the betrayal he had experienced before he left. His body still was battered and bruised, but that was just his mortal shell. His soul had taken much more damage.

Sami was so excited when news that his best friend, his former lover, his soulmate Kevin Owens was arriving to join NXT. His excitement was short-lived when Kevin had turned on him, viciously attacking him just moments after Sami's hard-won title victory. The NXT title...he had it only briefly, and lost it to Kevin Owens within a month. That hurt him, but what hurt more was the fact that he likely would never hold Kevin in his arms again.

Never-the-less, Sami was ready to move on. He came back to NXT, ready to fight his way to the top again. He's started over so many times, it was old-hat. He had to come back strong, and he was on his way with his recent victory over the very intimidating Rhyno, who's gore nearly tore Sami in two. But Sami's Helluva Kick had worked miracles for him before, and that night it did again, where he scored a pinfall that will rank right up there with his most hard-fought matches.

Sami dried off, running the towel over his rippling muscles, his broad shoulders and back, his hard biceps, down over his quads and back up across his furry ass. He dried his swinging cock and swaying testicles off, noting how achy his nuts were. He hadn't even thought about jacking off lately. He couldn't spare the distraction, and anyway, the last time Kevin and he had made love was in this very locker room, and he doubted that anything could approach the intensity of that encounter. Wrapping his towel around his waist, Sami made his way to his locker, where a surprising character was waiting for him. Leaning up against Sami's locker was Alex Riley.

Sami was immediately suspicious.

"How's my favorite Canadian?" Dressed in a body hugging t-shirt and blue jeans that bulged in all the right places, Alex smiled gently at the bearded wrestler.

"Good, Riley. I'm back." Sami felt Alex's eyes boring into him, and tried not to return the favor, though Alex' body looked very appealing. "Feels good to be back."

"You look good, Zayn." Alex' eyes traveled up and down Sami's physique. Similar to his own, Alex noted that he was heavier than Sami, but still built nicely. His gaze slid over Sami's furry chest, down his hairy abs. "Looks like you're cutting some weight. And you looked amazing against Rhyno. He's a hard son-of-a-bitch."

"Thanks." Sami stared at the ground, feeling himself get lost in memory. "I'm just preparing myself for what's to come."

Alex chuckled softly. "Goin' for the title again? You've got a long line ahead of you."

Sami's head shot up and shot Alex a sneer. "Is that why you're here? You're here to tell me to fuck off because you get your title shot first? Fuck you, Riley." Sami felt his heart start beating faster and he started shaking with rage.

Alex backed up a little and put his hands up. "Hey, sport! Calm down...I'm not here to tell you anything about that. I...just wanted to check up with you."

"I'm fine! Go away!" Sami spit the words at Alex.

Alex shook his head. "You sure don't seem fine." Alex let silence hang in the air until Sami started breathing more slowly. "I'm just offering my ear. If you want to talk." Alex now hung his head slightly. "I know what it's like to have your heart ripped out."

Sami looked up, and saw Alex with a wistful face. "You were with The Miz, huh?"

"Yeah, Mike was my everything for a long time." Sami saw Alex wipe an emerging tear. "He doesn't know how to treat his lovers. You know how he's with Damien Sandow now? You see how he treats Damien? He treats everyone he's with like that, like shit. Damien is getting sick of it too, just like I did."

Sami's heart softened. "I'm sorry."

"So am I, Zayn." Alex sniffled one last time and looked away, slowly returning to catch Sami's eyes. "No one deserves that. Not you, not I."

Sami nodded slowly. After a pregnant pause, smiled slightly. "Hey, maybe we could go get a coffee or something. I might want to take you up on that ear."

Alex smiled. "Awesome." He held his arms open, and Sami smiled wider when he slid into Alex' arms.

The two men hugged close, and Sami sighed involuntarily. It had been so long since he had strong arms around him. Alex felt good against his skin. Sami found himself nuzzling into Alex' neck and inhaling. He smelled good, strong and masculine. He felt his nuts jump slightly and his cock start plumping up.

Alex held Sami tight and he loved how well the two of them fit together. He found himself shivering when Sami's beard nuzzled into his neck. Alex started running his hands up and down Sami's back, feeling the musculature. How it excited him!

Alex leaned back and stared at Sami. He reached up and stroked Sami's beard gently. Sami dreamily grinned at the pleasure Alex' touch gave him.

Alex softly laughed. "It's been a long time since I've kissed a bearded man."

Sami bit his lip a little at the suggestion. Thoughts flooded Sami's head. What was he doing? He did think Alex Riley was handsome, and sexy, and being very kind to him. Had it been that long since he felt the touch of another man? Deep down, he knew it wasn't right. Deep down, something was pulling him away, but it didn't pull hard enough.

A fleeting look of excitement and passion flashed across Alex' face. He couldn't turn this opportunity down. Alex closed his eyes and leaned in. Feeling Sami's lips part, cushioned by the fluffy hair on his face, Alex and Sami slowly and leisurely kissed.

Sami couldn't believe how excited he was getting. There was no denying it – he was fully hard and felt himself starting to leak. Alex was turning him on and exciting him like he hadn't been in a long time, even though he tried to deny it. Alex' kiss started to become more insistent, more passionate, and Sami felt his towel drop and Alex' insistent hand gingerly grip his stone-hard penis.

Suddenly, a voice boomed throughout the locker room. "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING WITH MY BOY?"

Alex and Sami's kiss suddenly broke and they looked at the entrance of the locker room. They were shocked. Kevin Owens stood there, shaking and seething with uncontrollable rage. His face was red, his breath heavy, and he closed the distance between him and the two men in front of him in record time. Shoving Sami to the side, he tackled Alex Riley, hammering him with balled-up fists. Kevin savagely beat Alex on the floor of the locker room, punching and kicking him, all the while screaming profanities and insults.

Finally, Sami regained his composure and pulled Kevin off of Alex, holding his former lover back. "Alex, get out of here while you can. I'll take care of him."

Alex tried to get to his feet as quickly as he could and he scrambled out of the locker room, his tight t-shirt torn. Sami thought he saw blood.

Kevin yelled after Alex. "You son of a bitch, how dare you fuck with my guy! Sami is mine! Do you understand? He's mine!"

When Sami was sure Alex was gone, he released the NXT champion who was struggling against his hold. He pushed Kevin down and screamed at him.

"What the fuck was that, Kevin? This is the fucking locker room. WE. DON'T. FIGHT. IN. THE. LOCKER. ROOM."

"What, do you think I'm going to apologize? I'm only sorry that you stopped me. By the way, why don't you put some goddamn clothes on?"

"Fuck you, Kevin. If we weren't in the locker room, I'd be kicking your head clean off your shoulders right now." It was Sami's turn to shake with rage. With clinched fists, he fired words back to his former love. "How dare you call me yours?" Sami felt tears roll down his cheeks. "How dare you, after what you did to me?"

"Come on, I know what you were doing. You know I have beef with Alex Riley. You were fuckin' with him to get back at me. You wanted me to catch you guys."

"Are you kidding?" Sami scoffed. "It just happened here. We'd never talked before tonight."

"Oh, is that the way you are now? Letting anyone stroke your dick?" Kevin's eyes narrowed. "Fucking whore."

Sami's rage boiled over. He wanted to give Kevin the Helluva Kick right here. Instead, his open hand slapped across Kevin's face swiftly and forcefully.

Sami glared at Kevin. "How dare you." he whispered.

The slap woke Kevin up a little. It was one thing when he and Sami were in the ring. That was business, and since Sami was in the way of his championship, Kevin treated him as any other competitor. It didn't matter that they were best friends for over a decade. It didn't matter that Sami was in his dreams every night. It didn't matter that his heart ached and he was forced to be ruthless and cold. Kevin Owens had one job, crushing opponents to gain victories. This slap though, this was different. It was different than a jab, or an elbow smash, or even a dropkick. This slap came from a different place, and it pierced him to his deep soul. This was Sami, his precious soulmate, and he had hurt and insulted the only man he had ever loved, the only man he would ever love. An alien feeling, remorse, suddenly washed over him like ocean waves. What had he done?

Kevin looked up at Sami. "I'm sorry." He couldn't stand having Sami point hateful eyes at him. "I..."

His thought was cut off. "Kevin, save it." Sami felt his jaw clinching as he continued. "You have no idea what you've done to me." Sami slowly opened his locker and proceeded to dress. "You took my championship from me." He paused to pull on some blue bikini briefs, then some shorts. "You took your friendship from me." He slid on a loose t-shirt, a vintage t-shirt with a print of a Propagandhi album cover on it. "You took my pride and my dignity and robbed me of your love." he threw down some leather sandals and slid his feet in them, while he grabbed his backpack out of the locker, slamming the door. Reaching into the backpack, he found his flatcap, and stared at Kevin while he put the cap on. "Leave me something, please. Leave me freedom to pursue my happiness."

Kevin started to say something, but Sami didn't stay to listen, walking right past Kevin. In the locker room, Kevin sat on his bench, head hanging. Standing up, he screamed in anger. He balled up his fist, punched a locker to leave a big dent, and went to finish his workout.

Walking out of the locker room, Sami Zayn found himself walking faster and faster until he was running. At sight of the first open janitorial closet in the hall he ducked in. Closing the door behind him, he crouched down into a tight ball and violently sobbed, crying, mourning for the love he felt, and the love he lost.

Outside the Performance Center, Alex Riley sat in his car, staring in the rear view mirror, wiping the small amount of drying blood off his face. He was nearly finished when his mobile phone started buzzing.

He answered. "Hey." Pause. "Oh yeah, we didn't start fucking, but we were making out and that's when Owens walked in. Seeing that? It drove him crazy!" Pause. "Yeah, he pretty much kicked my ass right there in the locker room! But I was prepared for it." Pause. "Yeah, you got it. Things are definitely going according to plan." Alex ended his call, and couldn't help but to let an amused laugh out.

"Just you wait, boys." He smiled as he drove off.